After much effort, toil, angst, deliberation and frenetic Craigslist-surfing...I managed to get the very first component towards my (eventual) Tiki habitat. I managed to buy a bar and (I think) a pretty bloody nice one at that. It has only a couple of tiny dings and chips, but nothing that even someone as manually unskilled as I can't set right. Those teeny flaws aside, it's practically new.

Below is the "overall view" of the beast.

It weighs a TON...that slab o'granite top does not help and, even worse, makes it ridiculously top heavy when all you have are one and a half men (me & oldest son) to schlep it from the wifely minivan to the back room via the obstacle course of a hypercluttered garage, tall steps and rugged lawn terrain. Even worse when the growunup in the equation is supposedly down w. the flu. But I am nothing if not committed. Or, better yet, perhaps this is proof I should be.

I'm slightly embarrassed to state in public how little I paid for this thing. I spotted it on CL and it was being sold by a storefront church which seems to have been using it (probably donated, I'm guessing) as a hallway table. All of the other semi-acceptable bars I had seen on CL for the last year -- did I mention I was patient? -- were running in the $150-$300 range and this was not only FAR nicer, but also FAR cheaper. When I got there I was pleasantly surprised to see it more "tikiable" than I expected, with rattan-like panels and a workable color. I didn't get a chance to look for the manufacturer, but it has a Tommy Bahama-ish kinda feel to it. (See next)

Above is a closeup of the ornamental detail. (See what I mean about the Tommy Bahama thing?) So the question is this: How could I tikify those column-ish/rosette things (they look like they will pry off cleanly and relatively easily)? I was thinking of a shallow-ish set of wooden plaques with something (anything!) more tiki-ish, and possibly replacing those grooved columny details with something bamboo-y.

And, of course, placing a proper tiki dead center.

Any suggestions?

-J.

P.S. For those who are interested in following the progress of my eventual tiki habitat, be warned...this will go GLACIALLY slow, as I have very little in the way of time and even littler in the way of DIY skills and even littler than that in $$ my beloved wife will allow me to spend on such a project. Even if the projected space is the size of a medium phone booth.

Wow...great find, it is very classy looking...I love it...gorgeous top. I was in pain moving it in the house with you...LOL. It does sound like you have good ideas, so take your time (like some of us-eons) to make your dream come true. Most importantly...get some booze and glasses and ice and celebrate your accomplishment so far!!!
_________________ "Oh waiter, another cocktail please!!!"

One thing I was looking for is "faux bamboo" wood appliques for this sort of thing, that'd I'd stain to match. (Have I mentioned that staining and nailing something idiot proof are the pinnacle of my DIY aptitude?)

I have a room earmarked for Tikification. Towards that goal I look at that room daily and sigh. That's step one, the next step is getting the bar. And YES it weighed! It took a jury-rigged system of a broken dolly, a couple of disposable ol' comforters, perspiration and grunted profanity to move it in place.

The insides need to be made FAR more functional. It has a wine rack that takes up a brutal amount of space in the least efficient manner possible, for example. And those upside-down wineglass holder rack things (like dust doesn't settle on things upside down...).

Things in the dim distance of my plans for that room/bar are bamboo flooring to replace the formerly beige and now deeply speckled -- and not on purpose! -- beige W2W carpet, matting on the walls, an integrated sound system, a "window waterfall" I saw in a Sharper Image catalog epochs ago, suitable shelvery for my glassware* and Tiki mugs and SOMETHING to hold all of the glorious masterpieces of the distiller's art.

I'd be in the camp that says, "Just center a tiki face on the bar", and move on to other elements of your room. There's no need to make this bar look like a bamboo bar. And if you're doing this project slowly over time, there other critical elements to be addressed... rum for one! Yes, buy a good bottle of rum and bar supplies, and start looking for some bar stools. These could be where bamboo (or rattan) come into the picture. Then... how about another bottle of rum?

On 2010-09-26 14:46, Bongo Bungalow wrote:I'd be in the camp that says, "Just center a tiki face on the bar", and move on to other elements of your room. There's no need to make this bar look like a bamboo bar. And if you're doing this project slowly over time, there other critical elements to be addressed... rum for one! Yes, buy a good bottle of rum and bar supplies, and start looking for some bar stools. These could be where bamboo (or rattan) come into the picture. Then... how about another bottle of rum?

You may have thought I was on an extended jag of slackery and sloth. But no. I have not.

There are people here who, when the muse strikes them to transform a given area of their dwelling into a native habitat for Homo Tikiensis immediately set to it with implements of demolition, followed by power tools wielded with much artistry, and in three weekends you have a branch office of Paradise in the back room/basement/terrace/etc.

I, as will become abundantly clear in subsequent entries, possess almost entirely none of the skills required to bring such a project to gorgeous fruition. Between what I have in my mind's eye and and what I have NOW is a vast expanse mostly traversed via credit card, and then only when my beloved looks upon me with benevolence and pity.

So, necessarily, my approach must differ from that of my betters.

Instead of hurling myself headlong into a project and gracefully dispatching unexpected obstacles with a breezy smile, I must plan, plan, plan and then plan some more. Even this is less than ideal, because I can't draw. So I have to pursue matters in an even more primitive way. Planning with crayon, if you will.

What I do is simply to scour Craigslist, thrift shops and garage sales and see what I find. Whenever I am feeling expansive, I even rummage through eBay. The purpose is to gather the necessary chattels of tikification so that when the happy day for launching my Tiki habitat approaches all I'll really have to do is cover the walls with __________, cover the ceiling with ___________, install _________ lighting and I'm good to go.

I know some people like that clutter-shack look, some people like that nautical/shipwreck look. I'm happy to go with a theme I call All The Tiki Things I Got Really Cheap Look. Your mileage may vary.

So, just to show you that I am still feverishly working the whole Gather Mode Thing, here are the acquisitions as of today.

I have a couple of small bits o' tiki-ish hand luggage.
I have no idea what I'll use them for, but they were free and tiki enough for me. Next to them is a medium-ish bit o' tiki luggage that I also have no idea what to use it for. I'm thinking these may hold all the odds and ends one needs to have handy in one's tiki habitat, but which would either look weird and out of place in the open OR would be stashed somewhere inconvenient.

Feel free to suggest.

I also got that smallish cabinet ($8) under the drinks-globe where I am storing all the non-tiki glassware;
because, after all, you may get the odd guest who would rather have a Negroni than a Navy Grog. I'm thinking some refinishing and judicious appliqués would do wonders for it. Propped up against it is a brass & cherrywood shelf. Doesn't look particularly Tiki (but a case could be made that it looks nautical-ish) but it was only $5. Ignore the TV dinner tray tables.

And finally, atop the bar a plumed tiki
and the tiki glassware.

I had never seen a plumed tiki, but for $1.50 I was willing to take a chance.

Now.

Here I must make a confession that just might send me from the list of Orthodox Tikiphiles to Reformed (if not Heretical) Tikiphiles. I prefer tiki glassware to tiki mugs.

There.

I said it.

That's not to say I don't like mugs (in fact, there are several I have in my sights and you can see I have Trader Vic's coconut mugs and Mai Kai rum barrels) but that I prefer the glassware. Because I am also something of a Disneyphile, I like the glasses from WDW's Polynesian Resort.

Great start... I dont think you should apologize for not liking the mugs. You like what you like... I agree with the person above, just put a couple of masks on the front of your bar and she's set to go. You can get them fairly cheep on ebay and even in lots if you want to get them in one swoop. I too am just starting my room/bar area so its always cool to see someone else who is a lot like me. I have few DIY skills but I am looking forward to changing that. Good luck and keep the pix coming!

You have to do what feels good for you...it is OK to be out-of-the-box, and it looks like you have chosen some very classy looking decorations...plus you got the rum!!! I love those luggage pieces and that globe...beautiful. I have my mugs on display but my drink ware is all glass. I have a good variety of glasses (hurricane, mojito, martini, margarita, clear glass tiki, etc.)...I like them cause I can throw them in the dishwasher and not worry, plus the drinks look beautiful in glass. Keep up the great work!!!